


A Life for a Life

by Rasalahuge



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: All Magic Comes With a Price, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But it's rarely the obvious one, Dark One!Neal, Gen, sort of fix it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-13
Updated: 2014-04-13
Packaged: 2018-01-19 06:04:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1458652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rasalahuge/pseuds/Rasalahuge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>All magic has a price, the stronger the magic the greater the price.</em>
</p>
<p>  <em>But Neal, no matter how well intentioned, could not hope to match the price of the Dark One’s life only the price of Rumpelstiltskin’s. And the curse of the Dark One could not be so easily destroyed. </em></p>
<p>The price of bringing Rumpelstiltskin back is not quite as simple as the instructions for the Vault imply.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Life for a Life

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS for Season 3 Episode 15

All magic has a price, the stronger the magic the greater the price.

What most do not appreciate however is that magic was ruthless, emotionless and fair. It didn’t care if your child was starving to death. It didn’t care if the people of your kingdom were being slaughtered by war. It didn’t care if you just wanted to get back the father you had just lost for the second time. It didn’t care if that father was the only family you had left.

If Baelfire, known as Neal Cassidy, wanted his father back he would have to pay the price.

A life for a life.

Unfortunately for Neal, who might not know the price but was quite prepared to lay down his life for his father, things were rarely so simple. The Dark One was immortal; the curse itself could not be killed or even destroyed only passed on.

More importantly perhaps was that one life was not always worth another.

When Neal opened the vault of the Dark One in an attempt to bring back his father, Rumpelstiltskin, he set off a chain of events that could only be delayed by Rumpelstiltskin taking him into himself.

At first, locked away under Zelena’s control, Rumpelstiltskin ruled. It was his body and he had the greater experience. But then things started to change.

By the time they ended up in Storybrooke once again the weight of Neal’s mind and soul had driven Rumpelstiltskin insane and, for the first time, Neal was in full control. He pretended he didn’t remember anything, that he didn’t know what the mark on his hand meant, that he didn’t know where his father was.

Only Hook saw through him. But even he didn’t guess the truth of it.

It didn’t take much to persuade Emma to separate him from his father again. She knew virtually nothing of magic and for all that Belle had whispered the price into her ear there was no way she could know what it meant.

Rumpelstiltskin did. Rumpelstiltskin not only knew the true price of the Vault he had also had Neal inside his head for nearly a year. But Rumpelstiltskin was not the man he had been before he killed his own father.

“What have you done?” The spinner asked in horror, staring at Emma. Then he collapsed, eyes rolling into the back of his head.

A life for a life.

But Neal, no matter how well intentioned, could not hope to match the price of the Dark One’s life only the price of Rumpelstiltskin’s. And the curse of the Dark One could not be so easily destroyed.

Emma watched with slowly dawning horror as Neal’s eyes flashed pure molten gold before he was standing, as though he hadn’t been crippled by pain moments ago. He looked down at her and at his unconscious father.

“Thank you Emma,” His lips twitched into a smile, “It was getting rather crowded in there,” His voice was teasing but gone was the good nature that had gone along with it as they walked through the woods not ten minutes ago.

“Neal…” Emma started but Neal cut her off by crouching again by her side. Something dark and malevolent washed over the saviour as her son’s father leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“The Wicked Witch’s name is Zelena,” He told her, “For now she’ll control me but don’t worry, I’ll destroy her. Nothing threatens my family,” Then he stood again, “Look after my father for me Emma,” He said and stepped away.

“Neal don’t…!” Emma tried to stand, reaching out for Neal. But he was already gone, vanished in a cloud of black smoke.

A life for a life.

But the Vault of the Dark One didn’t demand the death of the one who opened it. No death meant little to magic. It wanted life.

Zelena felt the Dark One’s dagger burn in her bag and she excused herself to Snow White, ducking into the bathroom. She opened the bag and smiled. The lettering on the dagger, caught for a year between two names, had finally settled on one.

**_BAELFIRE_ **

Perfect. Rumpelstiltskin with his power was dangerous; if she lost the dagger he would kill her without hesitation. Powerless he was just a clever spinner. Now she had her tool, the powerful Dark One to do her bidding. But she also had the mind of Rumpelstiltskin, clever and quick and now utterly helpless.

The Wicked Witch smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> I was a bit behind on Once Upon a Time due to losing internet access for a month but caught up yesterday and had to write this. I plan on continuing it once Season 3 is over and I have a better idea of where the plot is going.
> 
> Written partly because I have a thing about Dark One!Neal but mostly because I can't yet see any **real** reason for killing Neal off now except to make the Emma/Hook relationship (as opposed to a flirty friendship) more realistic. I like writers who have the guts to kill off well liked characters but only when they do it for a reason and not just because of the romantic sub-plot or because they feel that they haven't killed enough people. It's irritating.


End file.
